Can my husband apply for Social Security immediately after layoff at 67? No 3-month notice penalty?

Good news - there's no "3-month heads up" penalty. That's not a thing with Social Security retirement benefits. Your husband can apply immediately with no reduction in benefits. Since he's already past Full Retirement Age (66+2 months for his birth year), there's no earnings test to worry about either. As for timing - if he applies this month, his first payment would arrive the month after next. SS pays a month behind, so for example if he applies in September, the September benefit would be paid in October. The application process takes about 30 minutes online at ssa.gov. The one consideration: by starting at 68 instead of 70, his monthly amount will be about 16% less than he would have received at 70. But that's just the trade-off for starting earlier. If he needs the money now, it makes perfect sense to file.

congrats to ur husband for working till 68 thats impressive! my dad tried to do that but health said no way lol. pretty sure you get ur first check pretty fast like a month or so after applying? thats how it went for my aunt anyway

I was in almost the EXACT same situation last year!!! My husband got laid off at 67 and we panicked. What nobody tells you is that the online application is SUPER confusing and the SSA phone lines are a NIGHTMARE!!! We waited on hold for HOURS and kept getting disconnected. So frustrating!!!! We ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at SSA. They have this system that calls SSA for you and then calls your phone when a rep answers. Saved us SO MUCH TIME! They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU After we finally got through, it still took about 6 weeks to get the first payment. So definitely plan for that gap!

Since he's already 67, he's past his full retirement age (FRA) so there's absolutely no penalty and no waiting period required. He can apply today and start receiving benefits. The timing works like this: - Apply in September = First payment arrives in October (for September benefit) - Apply in October = First payment arrives in November (for October benefit) My advice: have him apply right away, but do this online if possible. It's much faster than trying to schedule an appointment. He'll need: - His Social Security number - Bank account info for direct deposit - Marriage date if you're married - Employment info for the last two years Regarding the reduced benefit from not waiting until 70 - each year past FRA adds 8% to his benefit amount. So filing at 68 instead of 70 means approximately 16% less per month for life. However, it would take about 12 years of those higher payments at age 70 to make up for the 2 years of not receiving any payments. It's often financially better to start taking benefits when you need them.

when my uncle got laid off he had to wait like 3 months for his first check but that was back in 2019 so maybe its faster now? he said the online thing was easy at least

Just a follow-up thought - if your husband received severance pay, that won't affect his Social Security retirement benefits at all. Since he's past Full Retirement Age, he can earn unlimited amounts without reducing his Social Security. That's different from if he were under FRA, where earnings above a certain limit would temporarily reduce benefits (though they'd be recalculated later). If he decides to look for another job after starting benefits, he can work as much as he wants with no impact on his monthly Social Security payment.

Has anyone mentioned that if he earned a lot in the past 35 years, waiting until age 70 might not make that much difference anyway??? My brother in law was obsessed with waiting till 70 but when he actually went to SSA they told him his benefit was only going up like $100/month by waiting those last 2 years. Something to consider!!

my mom always said you should apply on your birthday month is that true?

You need to watch out because they make you pick a Medicare plan too when you file for SS if he hasn't already done that part. My husband got totally confused by all the Medicare options when he was trying to do his SS application. Just a heads up that might slow things down.